Austin Butler Saddles Up as Lance Armstrong in Edward Berger’s New Movie

Austin Butler is trading the sands of Arrakis for the peloton. He’s attached to play Lance Armstrong in a new feature with Edward Berger directing. Yes, that Lance Armstrong — the cyclist who dominated the Tour de France seven years straight, then lost it all when the doping scandal finally swallowed him.

The project

• Star: Austin Butler
• Director: Edward Berger (Conclave)
• Writer: Zach Baylin (King Richard)
• Producers: Scott Stuber and Nick Nesbit, alongside Berger

Here’s the tonal pitch they’re using, which is a pretty spicy swing for a sports biopic:

"A cross between F1 and The Wolf of Wall Street."

That checks out when you look at the arc. Armstrong survived potentially fatal metastatic testicular cancer, stormed back into pro cycling, and won the Tour de France seven times in a row. For years, he swatted away doping accusations. Then the United States Anti-Doping Agency wrapped a sweeping investigation that concluded he had used performance-enhancing drugs over the course of his career. Armstrong ultimately admitted to doping, was stripped of his titles, and the career ended right there.

A noteworthy wrinkle: producer Scott Stuber has been chasing Armstrong’s life rights for a long time and wanted the full package or nothing. After a lot of lengthy conversations, Armstrong signed off. If you’re wondering how a movie like this gets made, that’s how — inch by inch, meeting by meeting.

Berger’s busy slate

While this one gears up, Berger is currently shooting The Riders, starring Brad Pitt (F1), Julianne Nicholson (Paradise), and Coco Greenstone (Windcatcher). Pitt plays Fred Scully, who drifts across Europe for two years before landing in Ireland with his wife, Jennifer, and their daughter, Billie. On a whim, they buy a rundown farmhouse in the shadow of a castle. Scully stays behind to renovate while Jennifer heads back to Australia to sort out their finances. When Scully shows up at Shannon Airport expecting his wife and daughter, only Billie steps off the plane — alone, no note, no explanation, so shaken she can’t speak. As the official logline puts it:

"In that instant, Scully’s life falls to pieces."

Berger also recently signed on to direct Stradivarius for Netflix, a drama set in 18th-century Northern Italy about two master violin makers locked in a duel to create the perfect instrument.

Butler as Armstrong with Berger calling the shots and Baylin on the script? That’s a high-cadence combo. Now we wait to see how hard they pedal into both the glory and the fallout.